There are provided a compact light scanning apparatus including a
deflection unit for deflectively scanning light fluxes, and an imaging
optical systems provided for the respective light fluxes. When the light
fluxes deflectively scanned by the deflection unit are focused onto
different photosensitive drums by the imaging optical systems, through a
mirror. One of the imaging optical systems includes a transmission type
imaging optical element. In a sub-scanning section, the principal ray of
a light flux passing through the transmission type imaging optical
element passes a side opposite to the optical path of the light flux
deflectively scanned by the deflection unit and traveling toward the
mirror of another imaging optical system among the imaging optical
systems with respect to a straight line connecting the surface vertex of
the incidence surface of the transmission type imaging optical element
and the surface vertex of the emergence surface thereof.